Sir Hereward Wake, 13th Baronet

Hereward Wake was born in 1876, the eldest son of Sir Hereward Wake, 12th Baronet.[2] The Wake family, owners of the manor of Courteenhall since 1672, claim descent from the Anglo-Saxon noble, Hereward the Wake, who led opposition in East Anglia to the 1066 Norman invasion.[3][4] However, this may have been an attempt to improve the family's provenance in the 14th century, and it seems more likely the Wakes were descended from a 12th-century Norman immigrant.[4] Hereward Wake inherited the baronetcy upon his father's death in 1916.[5]

An officer and corporal of the King's Royal Rifle Corps c. 1895–1914

Wake attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and after graduating, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) on 17 March 1897.[6] He was seconded to the staff on 13 March 1900, by which time he had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant.[7] Wake served during the Second Boer War (1899–1902) and received the Distinguished Service Order in 1901 for his contributions.[8] Wake was appointed to the supernumerary rank of captain before 6 December 1902 and was appointed adjutant on 27 June 1903.[9][10] He was awarded the regimental rank of captain on 22 December 1908 at the same time he joined the Naval War Course for training.[11][12]

By 1914 Wake held the rank of major and, after the outbreak of the First World War, held a position at the War Office.[5] He became a 2nd grade general staff officer on 1 February 1916, and a 1st grade staff officer on 1 March 1916, at which time he also received the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel.[13][14] Wake was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier-general in 1917.[5] For his service during the war, Wake received the French Legion of Honour and the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1919.[15] In addition, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, with the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel.[16] After the war he maintained a link with army veterans, from 1922 he was the first president of the Roade and Courteenhall Branch of The Royal British Legion and presented them with a wooden hut to host their meetings.[17]

Wake commanded 4th Battalion, KRRC in British India from 1920 to 1923,[5] was appointed an aide-de-camp to George V on 5 December 1930, then promoted to major-general on 23 May 1932.[18][19] He commanded the 12th Infantry Brigade until placed on half pay on 23 August 1932,[20][21][22] returning to service on 1 April 1934 as commander of the Territorial Army's 46th (North Midland) Division.[23] Retiring from the army on 11 February 1937,[24][25] on 20 January 1938, he became colonel commandant of the KRRC, an honorary and ceremonial role.[26]

During the Second World War, Wake chaired the Northamptonshire Territorial Army Association and commanded the Northamptonshire Local Defence Volunteers.[27] On 5 May 1942, he was the first Colonel-commandant of 1st battalion, Northamptonshire Army Cadet Force, now A Company, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Army Cadet Force.[28] He co-authored Swift and Bold, a history of the KRRC in the Second World War, published in 1949.[29]

Courteenhall House

Wake married Margaret Winifred Benson, the daughter of banker and art collector Robin Benson, at St George's Hanover Square Church, Westminster, on 30 October 1912.[30] The Wakes lived at the ancestral home, Courteenhall House.[31] They had seven children, including Hereward Wake who also served in the KRRC, and inherited the baronetcy.[32] One of their daughters, Diana Wake, was killed in a riding accident at Bicester Hunt Races on 11 March 1950.[33]

Wake was appointed as a deputy lieutenant for Northamptonshire on 29 July 1922.[34] He was nominated for the position of High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in November 1925 and 1938,[35][31] before holding the position in 1944.[36]

Wake had a keen interest in history and was an early member of the Northamptonshire Record Society, founded by his sister Joan Wake in 1920.[2] During his time at the war department he recognised the historic importance of some of its buildings and was responsible for handing over the keep of Dover Castle, previously used as a rifle store and at risk of fire damage, to the Office of Works for preservation.[37] Wake owned a 1599 painting of Drue Drury.[38]

Site of a former ironstone quarry, Slipton, Northamptonshire

Wake also played a key role in highlighting the damage caused to Northamptonshire by ironstone workings. He chaired a sub-committee on the issue for the county's branch of the Country Landowners Association and was a member of the Northamptonshire County Planning Committee. Wake opposed the findings of the Kennet Committee which recommended against any action to restore the workings. He played a role in persuading government to pass an act, proposed by Hugh Dalton, to mandate the restoration of all current ironstone workings and several thousand acres of former workings. In later life he lived in Hampshire but continued to monitor the progress of restoration on visits to Northamptonshire. Wake died on 4 August 1963.[2]